Sink your teeth into our JAWsome Shark Week giveaway!

Published August 17, 2012

To celebrate the end of another fintastic Shark Week, we are hosting a JAWsome SharkGiveawayon Facebook and Twitter!

You could win a sand tiger or sandbar shark tooth!

The overall number of teeth each shark has depends on diet and species. Some sharks can have as few as 10 rows of teeth, and others as many as 300! All of our sharks are constantly shedding their teeth. In general, sharks can lose anywhere from one tooth a day to one tooth every 28 days. The rows of teeth replenish themselves sort of like a vending machine—when one falls out, the one behind it shifts forward.

The teeth we are giving away belonged to the sandbar shark and sand tiger shark species that live in our Open Ocean exhibit. Enter our JAWsome contest and you could win one of your very own!

One of our sand tiger sharks with a loose tooth

Sand tiger sharks, found in the coastal waters of North America, Japan, Australia, and South Africa, can have up to 56 rows of teeth in each jaw. On average, they lose their teeth every two to three days. Their teeth are long and jagged to help them chomp on their typical diet of bony fish, small sharks, rays, and crustaceans.

Sandbar sharks usually have about 14 rows of teeth in each jaw and shed their teeth about every 10 days. The look of their teeth is more typical of what you may have seen before, flat and triangular. Commonly found in the lower Chesapeake Bay, sandbar sharks are opportunistic bottom-feeders that prey on bony fish, mollusks, crabs, and shrimp.

Contest closes at 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday, August 17, 2012. Ten random Twitter winners and 10 random Facebook winners will be announced at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday, August 17, 2012. Entrants must live in the continental United States to win.

Love sharks? Click here to learn about ways you can support shark conservation!